Place in Homer’s Odyssey
Ithaca
Odysseus' rugged island kingdom
A small, stony, goat-grazing island in the western sea, and the thing Odysseus turns down immortality to get back to. It has gone twenty years without a king, and the suitors are eating it down to nothing.
Bonds
- Odysseus king of Ithaca — absent ruler, home unrecognized
- Penelope queen of Ithaca — stakes her hand on the contest
- Laertes dwells in Ithaca — his orchard, away from town
- The Suitors dwell in Ithaca — camped in the hall they eat
- Phemius dwells in Ithaca — the island’s own bard
Appears in
- Book I Visit of Athena to Telemachus
- Book II Departure of Telemachus from Ithaca
- Book IV Conference of Telemachus and Menelaus
- Book IX The Ciconians, Lotus-Eaters, and Cyclops
- Book XI Visit of Odysseus to the Land of the Dead
- Book XIII Arrival of Odysseus at Ithaca
- Book XIV Meeting of Odysseus and Eumaeus
- Book XV Return of Telemachus
- Book XVI Odysseus Discovering Himself to Telemachus
- Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
- Book XVIII Combat of Odysseus and Irus
- Book XIX Odysseus Recognized by Eurycleia
- Book XX The Last Banquet of the Suitors
- Book XXI The Bending of the Bow of Odysseus
- Book XXII Death of the Suitors
- Book XXIII Odysseus and Penelope After the Slaughter
- Book XXIV Conclusion
Scenes
- Athena pleads for Odysseus — Book I. Athena begs Zeus, plans to send Hermes
- Telemachus questions the stranger — Book I. Telemachus laments, asks his guest’s name
- Telemachus warns the suitors — Book I. Telemachus warns of vengeance, Antinoüs mocks
- Night falls on the hall — Book I. Eurymachus asks, Telemachus names Mentes
- Council Convenes — Book II. Telemachus calls Ithaca’s first council
- Eagle Omen — Book II. Zeus’ eagles clash, portend Odysseus
- Mentor’s Rebuke — Book II. Mentor rebukes Ithacans, Leiocritus ends it
- Nestor Questions the Guests — Book III. Telemachus begs Nestor for Odysseus news
- Farewell Gifts — Book IV. Telemachus declines horses, takes cup
- Antinoüs Presses for Details — Book IV. Antinoüs learns Mentor led the crew
- Odysseus begins his tale — Book IX. Odysseus names himself, begins tale
- Reunion at the Ship — Book X. Odysseus beaches ship, fetches crew
- Achilles Among the Dead — Book XI. Achilles’s ghost speaks, Ajax lurks
- Circè’s Final Warnings — Book XII. Circè warns to spare Helios’ cattle
- Landing at Ithaca — Book XIII. Sailors leave sleeping Odysseus with treasure
- Waking in a Strange Land — Book XIII. Odysseus wakes, fails to recognize Ithaca
- The Shepherd’s Riddle — Book XIII. Odysseus spins a tale of fleeing Crete
- Athena Unveiled — Book XIII. Athena reveals herself, praises his cunning
- An Oath and a Story — Book XIV. Odysseus swears return, Eumaeus won’t wager
- The Cretan’s Long Tale — Book XIV. Odysseus invents war, plunder, betrayal
- Athena’s Warning — Book XV. Athena warns Telemachus of ambush ahead
- Sold to Laertes — Book XV. Plot succeeds, Laertes buys Eumaeus
- Falcon Omen — Book XV. Falcon kills dove, a kingly omen
- Odysseus Tests Father — Book XXIV. Disguised, Odysseus hears Laertes lament
Ithaca is named in 78 of the poem’s scenes; these are the twenty-four that carry the most of the name.